is a port city in the Central District of Bandar Abbas County, Hormozgan Province, Iran serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. Bandar Abbas is a port on the southern coast of the country, on the Persian Gulf.
The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz (just across from Musandam Governorate, Oman). It is the location of the main base and headquarters of the Iranian Navy.
Etymology
Bandar Abbas has always been a port, and as such its various names have all reflected this function. The most common name over time was Gamrūn, with various spellings. In Henry Yule's dictionary of Anglo-Indian jargon two etymologies are given; the first derived from gümrük, "customhouse" (from Late Greek kommerkion, from Latin commercium, "commerce"). The second, which Yule found much more convincing, comes from Persian kamrūn, "shrimp" (in Portuguese: camarão, similar to the former Portuguese name). Its current name derives from that of Abbas the Great () paired with bandar – "port", meaning "Port of Abbas".
History
Pre-Islamic history
The earliest record of Bandar Abbas is during the reign of Darius the Great, the King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (between 522 and 486 BC). Darius's commander, Scylax, embarked from Bandar Abbas to India and the Red Sea.
During Alexander III of Macedon's conquest of the Achaemenid Empire, Bandar Abbas was known under the name of Hormirzad.
Portuguese period
thumb|right|Local costumes from Ormus, 1670
By the 16th century, Bandar Abbas was known as Gamrūn to the Persians. In 1565, a European navigator called it Bamdel Gombruc (that is, Bandar Gümrük, or "Customhouse Port"), citing this as the Persian and Turkish name. Bandar Abbas was conquered by the Portuguese in 1514, and was an important location to protect their commerce in the Persian Gulf and India. They named the city Comorão, due to the presence of lobsters and crabs on its shores.
In 1614, Comorão was taken by Shah Abbas the Great from the Portuguese. In 1622, Shah Abbas defeated Portuguese troops in the region with the help of the English Navy and the Persian commander Imam Quli Khan; the city was renamed Bandar-e Abbas ("Port of Abbas"). Backed by the English Navy, Abbas developed the city (known to the English-speaking world as Gombraun) into a major port.
By 1622, the Portuguese and English names had been officially combined to form Combrù or Combu, although the inhabitants still called it Bandar-e Abbas. Sir Thomas Herbert said the official English name was Gumbrown, but pronounced [gŏmrōōn]. He wrote in 1630 that "some (but I commend them not) write it Gamrou, others Gomrow, and othersome Cummeroon." By the 1670s, the city was known as Gameroon or Gumbroon.
thumb|right|English and Dutch [[trading posts in Bandar Abbas in 1704]]
Dutch and English period
In 1625, a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet attacked the Portuguese at Bandar Abbas and took control of the trade posts. Soon, the Dutch East India Company outcompeted its English counterpart and eventually, from 1654 onwards, was in complete control of the local spice and silk trade, due to multiple English ships being taken, and the Action of 29 January 1654. The Dutch remained in complete control until 1765.
Omani period
thumb|Prospect of "Gamron", c. 1740Between 1794 and 1868, Bandar Abbas was under the control of the Sultanate of Oman and Zanzibar through a lease agreement with Persia. The details of the original lease apparently differed between the Arabic and Persian versions. The Omanis controlled the coastal stretch of some 100 miles from Sadij to Khamir, and inland about 30 miles, as far as Shamil. They also controlled the islands of Hormuz and Qeshm. In 1823, the Persians attempted to oust the Omanis, but the sultan managed to keep his hold on Bandar through bribery and tribute of the governor of Shiraz. In 1845–1846, an army under the governor-general of Fars menaced Bandar to extort tribute, while another army under the governor of Kerman besieged Minab. The Omanis threatened to blockade Persia, but the British resident at Bushir convinced them to back down.thumb|"Gombroon, or Bender-Abbas", illustration from 1862
The Persians recovered the city in 1854, while the sultan was in Zanzibar. Under British pressure following the Anglo-Persian War in 1856, Persia renewed Oman's lease on favourable terms. It was clarified that the leased territory belonged to the province of Fars and that the Persian flag would fly over Bandar Abbas. The rental rate was also increased. Under British pressure the agreement was renewed in 1868, but at a higher rate of rent and for a shorter duration. Two months after its renewal, the lease was cancelled by the Persian government, citing a clause which permitted its termination if the sultan of Oman were overthrown.
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi paid particular attention to Bandar Abbas as a strategic port, and during his time the government invested huge amounts of capital in its infrastructure. Before initial plans to develop it as a major harbour, Bandar Abbas was a small fishing port with approximately 17,000 residents in 1955. By 2001, it had grown into a major city. It has a population of 450,000 (2011 estimate). The death toll was reported to be at least 28, with more than 700 people injured. The planned increase would raise diesel fuel prices from approximately $0.04 to $0.50 per liter.
On 21 June, 2025 during the Iran-Israel War the Israeli air force conducted airstrikes on the port aiming at drone storage sites and a weapons facility.<!--thumb|right|[[Mehndi|Henna tattoo, signs of love and joy, worked on the hand and arm of a Bandari girl.]]-->
On 31 January 2026, a strong explosion hit a building in Bandar Abbas, causing major damage. According to unofficial sources, commander Alireza Tangsiri was the intended target of the incident.
Naval base and headquarters
In 1977, the bulk of the fleet of the Iranian Navy was shifted from Khorramshahr to its new headquarters, naval base, and naval airbase at Bandar Abbas.
Demographics
Language
Original Bandaris (residents of Bandar Abbas) speak Bandari (بندری), a variety of Persian similar to neighbouring Achomi and Dialects of Fars, and distinct from New Persian. Bandari has loanwords from various European languages (e.g. tawāl, "towel"), Persian and Balochi.